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Adventures in online clothes shopping {Schoola, Twice & Stitch Fix}

Despite the stereotype that “women love shopping,” I am just not a shopper. Browsing through racks of clothes—or anything really—is my idea of torture, not fun, and when I have to buy something, I shop online as much as possible. {There’s something to be said for shopping with my mom and sister, but that has less to do with the clothes and more to do with time spent with them.}

I’m also not a big clothes spender. I hate to spend more than $15, $20 tops, on a single item, and yet I know that the quality of higher end clothes really does justify their cost as opposed to the disposable fashions of stores like Old Navy, Target and Kohl’s. {Don’t get me wrong…almost all of our clothes for the past 15 years have come from those stores, so I’m not really hating on them, although I do think there are ethical issues with our clothing industry that are worth examining.}

On top of all that, I’m about as unfashionable as they come. I want to look cute. I recognize cute. But putting together my own cute doesn’t come easily at all.

Enter online clothes shopping with Schoola, Twice and Stitch Fix. I’m sharing the good and the bad about all three of these sites based on my experiences. We’ve placed three Schoola orders now, two Twice orders, and I’ve received one Stitch Fix. Here’s what I love, what frustrates me and why I plan to continue to use all three in the future.

**Note, the links in this post are referral links, and our family receives store credit if you place an order through any of them. Be sure to sign up for your own referral links to share with your family and friends!

Schoola has revolutionized my shopping-for-kids-clothing experience. Every few months I’ll hop on and order some clothes for a couple of the kids at a time based on what I know they need. We’ve gotten unlucky in that our kids never seem to have the same preferences at the same age/size, so all of the dresses our second daughter wore when she was 7 are sitting in the clothes bin while our third daughter wears holes in the knees of her cargo pants. There is a ton to choose from, with a lot of high quality brands like Lands End and Hanna Andersson. With the exception of one item per order that just doesn’t fit right (in the order above, it’s the blue Limited Too tank, which is very short and has been passed down to the 5 year old), I’ve been beyond happy with everything we’ve purchased so far.

What I love:

The prices are great and I can get higher quality clothes for the amount I typically spend at cheaper stores.

Schoola gives detailed information about the quality of every item so that you know whether you’re getting something that’s been well loved already or still has the tags on.

40% of each purchase goes to support the specific school where that item was donated.

What frustrates me:

Items aren’t always the color I expect based on the online photo. For example, the Lands End pants in the image above are very, very olive green. That’s not usually a problem but does make it a little trickier to shop for family photos or holidays where I want the girls to coordinate.

The search feature isn’t great. For example, there’s no 12-18 month search available, so I have to search both 1 and 2 for Jackson and then sort through each item to eliminate the 12 and 24 month and 2T options to find clothes that fit him now.

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was signing up for Stitch Fix, the reaction was strong and instantaneous—half my friends said they love it and half said they hate it. Those who dislike StitchFix shared their favorite alternatives, and when I mentioned my reluctance to shop at thrift stores or consignment shops (see aforementioned reluctance to actually shop in a store), Amy at Mom Advice sent me her Twice link so I could try it online.

I was sold almost immediately by this high-end consignment shop. I shopped for shirts that will work well under my cardigans for the rest of winter and into spring and by themselves as spring transitions into summer. I also picked up two dresses to try for Sean’s sister’s upcoming wedding.

What I love:

Each item includes detailed size information, including bust/waist and length measurements, as well as three photos—from the front, the side and the back.

The prices! These clothes are high-quality, expensive clothing for discount store prices. I saved 25% off the prices above, picking up several shirts for $8-10 each and the dresses for $15 and $26 respectively.

Everything I received is top quality.

I was so excited to realize that every one of these pieces hangs and fits just the way it does on the mannequin in the photo. The Ann Taylor dress is slightly too big (but so cute, so I may need to see about taking it in!), and I should have known better than to get an American Eagle tank in small, but everything looks just like I expected. In fact, I was slightly appalled when I pulled the Gap shirt out of the box because it looked completely wrong (“Did I order this? I don’t think I ordered this!”), but when I put it on, it fit just like that picture above.

What frustrates me:

Your items can only be saved in your cart for an hour before they once again become available to other people.

Twice offers discounts of 15-50% on a regular basis. That’s a drawback because the urgency of the expiring cart means you might place your order with a 15% off coupon and then see a new 50% off coupon less than 8 hours later. (From now on I’ll wait for the coupon before I start shopping.)

The thing that has held me back from Stitch Fix for so long is the price of the clothes. $78 for a pair of jeans? $48 for a shirt? I am a discount store shopper, and those prices are hard for me to swallow. However, the clothes do justify those prices, and at this point I plan to stick with it. The jeans my stylist sent me were perfect, and I pretty much love the Alfredo Crew Neck Blouse as well. While I could get the same clothes for less at Twice, neither are items I would have ever picked out for myself, and I am so glad she sent them!

I am not a scarf wearer, but the one she sent was so silky soft that I almost kept it. Ultimately I sent it back because it was cream with green and brown accents while I tend to wear blues, greys and blacks (see Twice order above…), and I couldn’t justify $34 for a scarf that didn’t match most of my wardrobe. But I could see myself keeping a scarf in the future.

Uh, I am definitely not one of those sophisticated bloggers that can pose like a model in my Fix outfits; I felt so goofy doing this (and decided to embrace that feeling in the second photo!).

Benefits:

When your friends and family sign up to try Stitch Fix (even if they don’t keep any of the items in their Fix), you receive a $25 credit toward your next fix. That makes it fairly easy to offset the cost of the items you choose to keep. (And I love that it’s not based on whether they actually keep those items!)

There is a real live stylist listening to your tastes and requests before selecting items for your Fix.

You can influence these choices through the detailed survey, notes to your stylist, and your Pinterest boards.

Returning clothes is as simple as sliding them into the postage-paid bag and putting it in your mailbox.

Drawbacks:

Well…the price. (There is a 25% discount if you keep all 5 items from your fix, though.)

If you don’t keep anything, you still pay a $20 stylist fee; otherwise it’s applied to your purchase.

It takes some time for your stylist to get to know you. I wasn’t excited at all about the two shirts on the middle row above, and I would have loved a box full of clothes I wanted to keep, but the success with the two items I’m keeping was enough for me to keep trying for now!

All in all, I’m excited about these options for intentionally choosing clothes that look and feel good without having to set foot inside a store. While shopping for kids clothes this way is just plain ol’ convenient, I’m excited to see how my wardrobe and style change in the coming year now that I’ve discovered Stitch Fix and Twice for myself!

This Post Has 12 Comments

momadvice

23 Feb 2015

I love this recap! I feel the same way about the pricing with Stitch Fix. I think I am just too cheap and I have found that if I take my time and do a little hunting, I do really well on Twice. So thrilled to hear you love it too (phew!) It really is such a fun online shopping resource.

I can’t wait to check out Schoola now- thank you so much for sharing that. I will need tod o some Spring shopping for the kiddos!

A friend of mine mentioned that she’s Gwynnie Bee for plus size clothing and loves it. Have you tried it?

jacquie

24 Feb 2015

I love Stitch Fix. I started in about 8 months ago and feel like my stylist really knows my taste. There have been some misses, but it was worth a shot for $20. I have some events coming up and I am excited to see what she picks for them. I guess I am in the minority, but Stitch Fix is way cheaper than my usual Nordstrom habit.

Twice has become my new favorite way to shop because, like you, I feel like I am getting higher quality clothes for the prices I like – without leaving my house! If I’m going to shop, I’d much rather go grocery shopping than clothes shopping (ha!) but I look for bargains either way. Still, I’m working on slowly updating my wardrobe to simpler, but classic pieces that make me look more put together whether I’m at home, running errands or teaching. Twice has been very helpful for that!

Shannon

Hahaha! Can’t wait to hear what you think about StitchFix…and I might need your help picking out a couple of pairs of shoes soon!

Comments are closed.

Hi, I'm Mandi, and I'm so glad you're here!

A few things you should know about me: I'm a wife and mother of 6, as well as a full-time work-at-home mom, a passionate entrepreneur, a homeschooler, and an INTJ, with a heavy emphasis on the introvert! And I'm pretty sure fair-trade chocolate, loose leaf tea, and Starbucks lattes are among life's greatest pleasures.